Ross gave an interview, in Estonian, to "Ringvaade" about what he has learned about Estonia during that time, what he will miss about the country, and even a couple of small action points.

Do you have any stresses at the moment about having to leave Estonia?

Yes, I have some stress, firstly because I have to find a new house in Great Britain, and school places for the children; and all of this is a big stress, but also I'm sad because I'm unfortunately leaving Estonia in July, as this was my home for five years, and my family have been living here for five years too, and I think the whole family is sad too.

Estonian is so small if you come from the English-speaking world. Why did you start to learn Estonian even before you came to Estonia; you were already at B1 level five years back, when you still weren't yet ambassador?

I was in New York and I found out I would be coming to Estonia in the future, and there weren't any options to work in New York at that time due to Covid, so I thought, okay, I have quite a lot of time, and I started with Estonian via Zoom. I had a very, very good teacher here in Estonia. I started and then after around a month I found out how difficult the Estonian language is, but it was too early. And I continued, and thank God it was successful.

But you've been on Estonian-language TV and interviews too

Yes, when I was quite fresh here, it was the [football] European Championships, England and Denmark, and I did an interview here with ERR; and I think it was a surprise for everyone that an ambassador spoke a little Estonian.

Now you've written a book: "Estonian Lessons: What The World Can Learn From A Brilliant Baltic State," which has been published. Estonians worry a lot about what other Estonians think. But what are Estonians like for you?

The reason why I wrote this book is that I have mentioned during my time here how successful Estonia is in so many fields, for instance in digital governance, tech, but also environmental protection and a lot more. And I found out also that not one Estonian had written a book like this, because they are so unassuming. But I think perhaps this was needed for foreigners, to write this book. You are so successful but perhaps you think all the time that the glass is only half empty.

What did you know about Estonia before you came here?

Honestly, I didn't know much. The first time I visited Estonia was when I arrived as the ambassador with my family. It was quite hard, but everything was good. I remember so clearly that on our second day we went to the beach at Haabneeme, and it was in June, the sun was shining, and we ate pizza, there was music, and we swam in the sea and I thought, "yes, this is pretty good. This is a good start."

Are there so many things you miss when you go out of Estonia, which aren't in the UK but are in Estonia?

I thought about this: It's quiet and peaceful. There aren't too many people here; I'll give you an example: We were on holiday in China two years ago, and we were as a family in Beijing and Shanghai, such big cities, and I remember so clearly how happy we were when the plane landed back in Tallinn. It was "Ahhh – peace and quiet." And I think this is quite hard in London and in Oxford. There are so many people.

You have written about the Song Festival and you wrote about ice swimming, but I didn't quite understand – did you do ice swimming yourself or did you simply watch people doing it?

I took part in this! It was quite interesting. This was, I think, the world record, more than 800 people. It was great, there were so many people but I didn't worry about how many people there were.

Did you go ice swimming again, and try to break that world record?

Quite often. Recently I have been together with guests to Viru Raba (Võru) and I swam; this wasn't in winter, but the water was still quite chilly. But it was good, it was enjoyable.

You talked about the good things in Estonia, but what don't you like, what got on your nerves. What would you gladly get rid of?

I wrote in the book 10 things which are good in Estonia, and one small half paragraph with three small suggestions which could go a little better. For instance, renewable energy: I think there is a possibility in Estonia to have more renewable energy in the future; also for example the gender pay gap between men and women – I think we need to improve this, and also my third suggestion was what in English is called customer service: for instance in the cafe or bar or restaurant. However, I have to say that these are very, very small things.

You sing in a choir too, right?

I did sing, I left the choir after the Song Festival, because I think the Song Festival was my high point. Also, my wife said to me, "Ross, you have so many hobbies – you want to write a book," and I joined the air force (Britain's RAF) as a reserve officer, and my wife said "this is too much," but I miss my choir friends.

I have two more questions: How do you write so easily and fluently and eloquently, and hopefully will the book also be available in Estonian?

Hopefully. I asked the publisher and they answered yes, to nationality in Estonia, but we need to translate it. Hopefully in the future the Estonian version comes out.

What will you do once you get back to Great Britain?

I don't know yet unfortunately. Perhaps something in the Foreign Office in London, or perhaps something else, in the "real world." We'll see. Like you say in Estonian: Elame näeme ("Let's live and see").

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